Media Contact
Marti Pupillo
(202) 220-3535

Associations Welcome 2008-2009 Officers, New Board Members

(Washington, D.C. — October 6, 2008) – During their fall board meetings in Charleston, S.C., late last month, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and its three constituent organizations – the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA) – elected new officers and voted on new board members. Leading each association for the next year will be: IDFA Chair Paul Kruse, CEO and president, Blue Bell Creameries, L.P.; IDFA Vice Chair and NCI Chair Gary Vanic, president and CEO, Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc.; IDFA Secretary and MIF Chair Paul Bikowitz, president, Heartland Farms; and IDFA Treasurer and IICA Chair Tim Kahn, president and CEO, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.

"With such a distinguished team of leaders to guide our efforts, IDFA is certainly looking forward to an exciting and productive year ahead," said Connie Tipton, IDFA president and CEO. "We appreciate the commitment that these volunteer officers and directors are making to keep the entire dairy industry moving forward."

The IDFA chairmanship rotates among former leaders of the three constituent organizations every year. This year marks IICA’s turn in the rotation for IDFA chairman, and Kruse, who is a former IICA chairman and sits on the IICA advisory committee, was elected. The chairmen of MIF, NCI and IICA are elected by their respective board members for two-year terms.

The officers and directors for IDFA, MIF, NCI and IICA are:

2008-2009 International Dairy Foods Association Officers

  • Chair: Paul Kruse, CEO & President, Blue Bell Creameries, L.P.
  • Vice Chair: Gary Vanic, President & CEO, Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc.
  • Secretary: Paul Bikowitz, President, Heartland Farms
  • Treasurer: Tim Kahn, President & CEO, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.

2008-2009 Milk Industry Foundation Officers

  • Chair: Paul Bikowitz, President, Heartland Farms
  • Vice Chair: Mike Nosewicz, Vice President, Dairy Group – East, Manufacturing Division – Dairy, The Kroger Co.
  • Secretary: Ed Mullins, Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
  • Treasurer: Philippe Caradec, Vice President, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, The Dannon Company, Inc.

2008-2009 National Cheese Institute

  • Chair: Gary Vanic, President & CEO, Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc.
  • Vice Chair: Rhonda Jordan, President, North America Cheese & Dairy, Kraft Foods N.A., Inc.
  • Secretary: Dan Vecchiarelli, Vice President, Production Operations, Leprino Foods Company
  • Treasurer: Jon Davis, Vice President, Le Sueur Cheese Co., Inc./ Davisco Foods International, Inc.

2008-2009 International Ice Cream Association

  • Chair: Tim Kahn, President & CEO, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.
  • Vice Chair: Jay Jaskiewicz, Director of Dairy Manufacturing, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
  • Secretary: Randall Dei, Director, Dairy Industry, Safeway Inc. Ice Cream Department
  • Treasurer: Martha Leyburn, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation

MIF Board of Directors

New Members

Peter W. Horvath, President, QCS Purchasing/Quality Chekd Dairies, QCS Purchasing LLC
Calvin Kaufman, Group Vice President & President, Manufacturing, The Kroger Co.
Nash Lakha, President & CEO, Parmalat Canada Inc.
Goran Olsson, Vice President, Processing, Tetra Pak Inc.
Phil Plourd, President, Blimling & Associates, Inc.
George Siemon, CEO, Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative
Patty Stroup, Group Manager, Dairy, Nestle USA, Inc.

Re-elected Members (Term Expiring in 2011)

Carmine C. Catalana IV, President, Cumberland Dairy Inc.
Pierre Claprood, Chief Executive Officer, Agropur Cooperative
Kevin Imm, CEO, Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc.
Jay Jaskiewicz, Director, Dairy Manufacturing, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Jeffrey Kaneb, Vice President, HP Hood LLC
John Kaneb, Chairman, HP Hood LLC
Dwight Moore, Vice President, Hunter Farms/Harris Teeter
Ed Mullins, Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
Richard A. Shehadey, President/CEO, Producers Dairy Foods, Inc.
Bill Tinklepaugh, Senior Vice President, Government & Industry Relations, Dean Foods Company
Joseph Weis, Vice President, Foremost Farms USA, Cooperative

Members (Term Expiring in 2010)

Jay Bryant, Treasurer & General Manager, Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, Inc.
Charles Gaither, President, Milkco, Inc.
Dub Garlington, President & Chief Operating Officer, Plains Dairy, L.L.C.
Al Guida, Chairman of the Board, Guida's Milk & Ice Cream
Bob Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.
Harrald Kroeker, President, DSD Dairy, Dean Foods Company
Mike McCully, Director, Dairy Procurement, Kraft Foods N.A., Inc.
Mike Nosewicz, Vice President, Dairy Group – East, Manufacturing Division – Dairy, The Kroger Co.
Ernest Yates, Vice President, Industry Relations, Dean Foods Company
Bob Waldron, President, Yoplait-Colombo, General Mills, Inc.

Members (Term Expiring in 2009)

John C. Bedrosian, Vice President, Manufacturing Division, Unified Western Grocers, Inc.
Philippe L. Caradec, Vice President, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, The Dannon Company, Inc.
Quintin F. Frey, President, Turkey Hill Dairy, Inc.
Tim Galloway, CEO, Galloway Company
Michael Krueger, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Dairy Division Shamrock Foods Company
Donald K. Merrigan, President, Readington Farms, Inc.
Michael L. Nance, General Manager, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
David Nelsen, Vice President of Manufacturing, Safeway Inc.
Jeff Powell, President and General Manager, Roberts Dairy Company
Stephen Schmid, President, Smith Dairy Products Co.
Jay Simon, CEO, Super Store Industries

NCI Board of Directors

New Members

Martin Bates, President & COO, Fonterra USA
Steve Gackenbach, Sr. Director, Strategy Planning/External Development, Kraft Foods N.A., Inc.
Jim Lehman, General Manager, Pace Dairy/The Kroger Co.
Jim Wegner, Sr. Vice President, Darigold, Inc.
Dan Zastoupil, President, Marathon Cheese Corporation

Re-elected Members (Term Expiring in 2011)

Mark Anderson, President, Crystal Farms RDC
Terry Brockman, President & Chief Operating Officer, Cheese Division (USA), Saputo Cheese USA Inc.
Pierre Claprood, Chief Executive Officer, Agropur Cooperative
Jon Davis, Vice President, Le Sueur Cheese Co., Inc., Davisco Foods International, Inc.
Jeff Giffin, President & CEO, Masters Gallery Foods, Incorporated
Mark Korsmeyer, President, Dairy Food Products, American Dairy Brands, a division of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Mike Reidy, Senior Vice President, Procurement, Logistics & Business Development, Leprino Foods Company
James C. Sartori, President & CEO, Sartori Foods

Members (Term Expiring in 2010)

Mark Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Davisco Foods International, Inc.
John Fridirici, Vice President, Milk Marketing & Procurement, Grande Cheese Company
Dave Fuhrmann, President & CEO, Foremost Farms USA, Cooperative
Mark G. Leddy, CEO, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc.
Tim Omer, CEO, DCI Cheese Company, Inc.
David P. Pozniak, President & CEO, Schreiber Foods, Inc.
Harold Strunk, President and CEO, Tillamook County Creamery Association
Gary Vanic, President & CEO, Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc.
Daniel Vecchiarelli, Vice President, Production Operations, Leprino Foods Company
Jeffry O. Williams, President & CEO, Glanbia Foods Inc.
Al Zolin, Director of Cheese/Dairy Procurement, Kraft Foods N.A., Inc.

Members (Term Expiring in 2009)

Frederick Bouisset, President & CEO, Lactalis American Group
R. Gregory Dryer, Executive Vice President, Saputo Cheese USA Inc.
Stephen B. Gaddis, President, Pacific Cheese Co., Inc.
Ted Jacoby III, Vice President, Cheese Sales, T.C. Jacoby & Company, Inc.
Fritz Leeman, CEO, Brewster Dairy, Inc.
Mike Neu, Business Manager, Chr. Hansen, Inc.
Neal Schuman, President, Arthur Schuman, Inc.
Scott Sexton, Chairman & CEO, Dairy.com
Doug Simon, President, Trega Foods
Richard Stammer, President/CEO – Cabot; COO – Agri-Mark, Cabot/McCadam
Deborah Van Dyk, Vice President, Industry & Regulatory Affairs, Schreiber Foods, Inc.

IICA Board of Directors

New Members

Bennie Brigham, President, Pecan Deluxe Candy Company
Rachel Kyllo, Vice President, Marketing, Kemps LLC
John LeBoutillier, Vice President & General Manager, Unilever Ice Cream, N.A.
Tony Verlezza, Vice President, Supply Chain, Unilever Ice Cream, N.A.
Mike Wells, CEO, Wells' Dairy Inc.

Re-elected Members (Term Expiring in 2011)

Randall Dei, Director, Dairy Industry, Safeway Inc. Ice Cream Department
Jay Jaskewicz, Director of Dairy Manufacturing, Publix Super Markets, Inc
Curt Jones, Chairman, Dippin' Dots, Inc.
Martha Leyburn, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation
Scottie Mayfield, President, Mayfield Dairy Farms, Inc.

Members (Term Expiring in 2010)

Gary Aggus, President, General Manager, Hiland Dairy Foods
John Cox, Executive Vice President, Turkey Hill Dairy, Inc.
Rachel Cullen, Chief Operating Officer, Ice Cream, DSD Dairy, Dean Foods Company
Tom George, President, Tate & Lyle Custom Ingredients
Mel MacConnell, President & CEO, Scotsburn Co-op Services, Limited
Ed Mullins, Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
Brian Perry, Executive Vice President/Vice Chairman, Perry's Ice Cream Company, Inc.
Corrinne Columbo Reed, ADQ Vice President, Dairy Products Division, International Dairy Queen, Inc.
Howard Smith, Jr., President, Virginia Dare

Members (Term Expiring in 2009)

Lou Galliker, Chairman & President, Galliker Dairy Company
Paul Hagen, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Schoep's Ice Cream Co., Inc.
Tim Kelbel, Vice President, Dairy Group – West, Manufacturing Division – Dairy, The Kroger Co. Skip Rosskam, President & COO, David Michael & Company
Tony Sarsam, Executive Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.

 

# # #

 

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $100-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI), and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.